Brazilians disappointed after 1-1 tie at World Cup

RIO DE JANEIRO — Disappointment and frustration swept over Brazilians who gathered at public squares, bars and parks across Latin America's biggest country to watch their national team end up with a 1-1 tie in its opening World Cup match.

In Rio de Janeiro, thousands jammed the downtown Maua Square to watch Brazil's game with Switzerland on large TV screens. People cheered wildly when Brazil made it 1-0. But the mood started declining into glumness once Switzerland scored the equalizer and Brazil failed to get in another goal.

People watching the game in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and other cities in soccer-mad Brazil expressed similar feelings of disappointment.

source: philstar.com

Zurich students develop stair-climbing wheelchair

An electric wheelchair that can climb most stairs, including spiral staircases, has been developed by Zurich-based students.

The Scalevo Wheelchair can mount one stair per second and was designed by 10 students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and the Zurich University of the Arts.

When being used on normal flat ground it balances on two wheels like a Segway and allows users to turn on the spot in order to quickly change direction. Two rubber tracks mounted to the bottom of the chair can be summoned at the press of a button to allow the user to climb stairs.

According to Carlos Gomes, of ETH Zurich, "we have two main wheels, two large wheels to drive around on the flat ground in a balancing mode like a Segway. And then we have two rubber tracks which we can extend to the angle of the stairs and let the wheelchair be always upright on every angle on the stairs."

Colleague Miro Voellmy said the rubber tracks make the system entirely safe, even if stairs are uneven or cracked.

"Tracks are excellent for this use case because they have a very large footprint, which makes it near impossible to tilt, and they are also very smooth so it doesn't feel like you're driving up stairs, so it just feels like you're driving up a ramp because they're so flat and they adapt to the stair profile. So it doesn't matter if the stair is wooden or metal or glass, the tracks they grip and there's no danger of slipping," said Voellmy.

Scalevo ascends the stairs backwards. When it reaches a set of stairs, the user presses a button to lower the tracks to the ground and its rubber grips hook onto the steps above to propel the chair and its occupant upwards. As it reaches the top a smaller pair of support wheels descend to prevent the wheelchair from toppling over.

By traveling backwards the user can see what is below them, while a small video device similar to those used as reverse parking cameras in cars is fitted on Scalevo's arm, allowing them to see where they are going.

"The great thing is that everything on this wheelchair is automated," said Voellmy. "If I want to climb the stairs I can just drive up to them, turn around, press one button and all I have to do is control the velocity I want to drive at. The alignment on the stairs, the leveling of the wheelchair driver, is automated and he can control it, he can view the back with a back facing camera, and have a full, safe, driving experience."

The designers believe that, if adopted widely, their technology could negate the necessity for access ramps and in-house stair lifts, while wheelchair users could have the option of avoiding out-of-the-way lifts.

"It was built very compact, so it's not much wider than a classic manual wheelchair and it can still go under tables, you can go through narrow doors and use it indoors without any hassle, so it's extremely compact in comparison to different wheelchairs and it's very easy to use," said Voellmy.

Their prototype was built in ten months and has been subjected to a series of tests. According to Gomes, "we tested the wheelchair on several staircases, even on a spiral staircase, because we can move the tracks independently and all kinds of staircases we are able to drive (on) like from 34 to 17, I think, degrees. And this is almost every stair. You can drive everywhere."

Previous stair-climbing wheelchairs have failed to make the grade. Six years ago the iBot, devised by Johnson & Johnson product was discontinued, regarded as expensive, and requiring users to have use of at least one arm and some upper body control, according to the Huffington Post.

Scalevo's makers believe that when it eventually comes to market, their stair-climbing wheelchair will not be much more expensive than traditional wheelchairs.

Scalevo is also taking part in the 2016 Cybathlon, an ETH-organized championship for pilots with disabilities using advanced assistive devices.

source: interaksyon.com

Swiss central bank introduces negative interest rate

Zurich, Switzerland - Switzerland's central bank on Thursday announced it was introducing negative interest rates, in a bid to stop the Swiss franc -- a safe haven currency -- from gaining further value.

The Swiss National Bank is imposing a rate of -0.25 percent on certain bank deposits, with the aim of pushing the target range of a benchmark interest rate into negative territory.

The rate on so-called sight deposits, funds which can be accessed immediately, will come into force on January 22 and only apply to balances above a certain threshold.

The SNB said the aim was to take the three-month Libor rate, which Switzerland uses to determine interest rates on mortgages and savings accounts, into negative territory.

The target range for Libor -- officially the franc's three-month London interbank offered rate -- is now between -0.75 percent and 0.25 percent, down from between 0.0 and 0.25 percent.

Analysts have been expecting the bank to push rates into negative territory, which is designed to make it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments.

The SNB reiterated its "utmost determination" to stop the Swiss currency gaining value and to keep to an exchange-rate floor of 1.20 francs to the euro, in a bid to protect the country's vital export industry.

"Over the past few days, a number of factors have prompted increased demand for safe investments," it said.

"The introduction of negative interest rates makes it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments, and thereby supports the minimum exchange rate.

"The SNB is prepared to purchase foreign currency in unlimited quantities and to take further measures, if required."

source: interaksyon.com

Swatch prefers go-it-alone route for smartwatch plans

BIEL, Switzerland — Swatch Group is happy to go it alone with a launch next year of watches with “smart” features to compete with so-called wearable gadgets from the big tech companies, a market potentially worth $93 billion.

The world’s biggest watchmaker, which sees the advent of smartwatches as an opportunity rather than a threat, will unveil its new Swatch Touch next summer.

Swatch Chief Executive Nick Hayek said these new watches might allow the wearer to count the number of steps they take and calories they burn. And there will be a few other cool ‘Swatchy’ things on offer via latest Bluetooth technology, he said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Biel.

“All the big technology firms want to work with us and I don’t rule out that we are or could be collaborating in some areas. But we can also do many things on our own.”
Wearable gadgets, such as smartwatches that allow users to connect to their phone to check emails, make calls or monitor their health, are expected to be the next big thing in the tech world and a potential threat to traditional wristwatch sales.
Apple Inc has just invited media to a “special event” next month, fuelling speculation it might present a much-anticipated “iWatch.”

The possibility of an iWatch launch is partly responsible for Swatch shares losing almost 15 percent so far this year, lagging a 3 percent rise in the European sector.
“For Swatch, this could mean a 2 percent hit to revenue and earnings before interest and tax for each 10 percent share that the iWatch was able to gain in its addressable market,” Bernstein analyst Mario Ortelli said in a study in July. Ortelli has a “market perform” rating on Swatch’s shares.

Other tech companies are working on smartwatches. Google’s Motorola is set to launch a Moto360 smartwatch next week in the United States.

But the spotlight is on Apple after the company poached executives from the fashion, luxury and medtech (medical)industries and registered the trademark “iWatch” in Japan.

Dream team

For many analysts, Swatch and Apple would be the dream team for a smartwatch project, but Swatch has always played down its interest in such a relationship. The argument is that Swatch’s business is selling watches not technology.

“Our first message for customers is the watch. If they like it, they might also be interested in the extra functions,” Hayek said. “It is a problem if you only define a product by its technology. Technology alone doesn’t sell, not in watches.”

His comments highlight the importance of fashion and branding for the development of the smartwatch business.

“(Technology firms) that want to strike partnerships with us also want access to brands. They want (their products) to be more than a commodity,” the CEO said.

Swatch has a well-established list of brands, including its colorful Swatch watches, sporty Tissot and Longines, elegant Omega and hand-decorated Breguet timepieces.

There are already smartwatches on the market from companies like Samsung, Sony Corp and LG Electronics, but these have had mixed reviews.

Experts say even if the technology is cheap and small enough for wearable gadgets, this is not enough for consumers. “Nobody has hit on the right combination of problems a wearable should solve and convinced mainstream consumers,” Avi Greengart, research director at IT research firm Current Analysis, said.

The rewards are potentially huge for whoever comes up with a winning formula. Andrew Sheehy, chief analyst at Generator Research, sees the retail value of wearable Internet-connected devices at $93.1 billion by 2018, versus $4.1 billion in 2014, with smartwatches accounting for about two thirds of the market’s value in 2018.

Tech expertise

Swatch itself is already in the tech business, making microchips, displays and batteries, mainly for third parties, including mobile phone and smartwatch makers.

“We work with many companies, but there’s no reason to shout it from the rooftops,” Hayek said. “EM Marin supplies tiny parts to many, maybe also Apple. We also make batteries for others. But that’s not our core business.”

Swatch’s electronic systems arm includes semiconductor maker EM Marin, battery maker Renata, quartz maker Micro Crystal and its sports timing business. It had sales of 299 million Swiss francs (327.31 million US dollar) in 2013, but the strong franc led to an operating loss of 12 million francs.

“I don’t know if it will turn profitable this year, that depends on the dollar,” Hayek said.

Almost 500 people work at EM in Marin, about a half-hour drive from Biel, and another 500 at sites worldwide.

“Low-power and low-voltage microchips are our specialty. The Swatch Touch, for example, is the only battery-powered device to have a touch screen that is always active because its power consumption is so low,” Michel Willemin, head of EM Marin, said.

EM Marin supplies components and Renata long-life batteries for Garmin’s Vivofit fitness band that monitors distances walked and calories burned.

“Fitness bands are a trend,” Hayek said. “They are selling like crazy in the U.S., but our Swatch and Tissot brands still have double-digit sales growth there. People wear the band on the other wrist and often take it off again after a few weeks.”

source: interaksyon.com

Swiss Emmentaler named world's best cheese

MADISON, Wis. — A Swiss Emmentaler has been named the top cheese at an international competition in Wisconsin, handing the nation its fourth win in the past five years.

Cheesemaker Gerard Sinnesberger took top honors at the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest with his Original Schweizer Rohmilch Emmentaler, a large format, big wheel Swiss cheese.

Out of possible 100 points, the Emmentaler scored 97.85 in the final round of judging Wednesday. The cheese was deemed the best of 2,615 entries from 22 countries.


An Austrian entry, called Erzherzog Johann, was second. Another Swiss entry, Gruyere AOP, was third.

A U.S. cheesemaker hasn't won the contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association since 1988, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Although Americans weren't in the top three this year, they took home the most medals, winning 59 of the 90 categories judged. Switzerland came in second with seven gold medals, while the Netherlands had five.


Among U.S. contestants, Wisconsin dominated with 33 gold medals. Chief judge Bob Aschenbrock credited the quality of milk produced by Wisconsin farmers and work done by state agriculture officials and the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"They've improved the milk supply immensely in the last 15 to 20 years. When I was making cheese back in the 1960s and 1970s, it was nothing like it is today. Everybody else follows our lead, basically," said Aschenbrock, a longtime cheesemaker.

Four Wisconsin cheese makers made it to the final round of competition: Brenda Jensen, of Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby, with a hard mixed milk cheese; Marieke Penterman, of Holland's Family Cheese in Thorp, with an aged Gouda; Katie Hedrich-Fuhrmann, of LaClare Farms in Malone, with a hard goat cheese; and Steve Bierhals, of BelGioioso Cheese in Green Bay, with a Parmesan.

Holland's Family Cheese won best of show with a smoked Gouda last year at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay. The national and international competitions are held in alternate years.

source: philstar.com

US tax probe leaves Swiss bankers afraid to travel: report

GENEVA - As a United States hunt for tax evaders and their accomplices gains momentum, many Swiss bankers are afraid to go abroad for fear of arrest, one business leader said in an interview published Sunday.

"In my opinion, some 1,000 Swiss bankers no longer dare to go to the United States, or even travel abroad," Martin Naville, the head of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying by Le Matin Dimanche weekly.

Swiss banks and industry representatives are increasingly cautioning bankers who have worked with US clients to refrain from travelling outside Switzerland, the paper reported.

Swiss banks are believed to have accepted tens of billions of undeclared dollars from US citizens, though they now refuse such money, and a number of banks are under US investigation.

The US has not made public which individual bankers it is probing, but according to Le Matin Dimanche, about 30 names are on the list.

Recently however, "the United States has proven it can strike where and when it likes, and now with the help of European countries", the paper wrote, describing widespread paranoia throughout the banking industry.

The report comes just over a week after the arrest in Italy of a former high-ranking UBS executive alleged to have helped US customers conceal their assets.

Raoul Weil, the 54-year-old ex-chairman of UBS's global wealth management service, was indicted by a US federal grand jury in 2008 for his alleged role in overseeing the US cross-border business.

The indictment alleges that Weil and co-conspirators helped US customers hide around $20 billion (15 billion euros) in assets from tax authorities.

The Swiss national, who left UBS after the 2008 indictment, has always denied the charges and is reportedly fighting his extradition from Italy to the US.

The Swiss Bank Employees Association told Le Matin Dimanche it was advising all bankers who have regularly visited clients in the US "to abstain from travelling".

And some Geneva banks are urging employees living on the French side of the border to settle in Switzerland instead to avoid problems, one banker who wished to remain anonymous told the paper.

"I don't even dare leave Zurich anymore," said another unnamed banker, who recently found out his name had been handed to US authorities.

source: interaksyon.com

Oprah Winfrey ‘sorry’ for reaction to Swiss handbag incident

LOS ANGELES | Oprah Winfrey said she was sorry for the uproar and media response caused by her comments about an incident in a Swiss luxury store last month when an assistant refused to show her a $38,100 handbag.

At the premiere of her new film, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” in Los Angles on Monday evening, the U.S. actress and talk show host, recently named by Forbes as the world’s most powerful celebrity, said she regretted saying it took place in Switzerland.

“I’m really sorry that it got blown up. I purposefully did not mention the name of the store. I’m sorry that I said it was Switzerland,” she told reporters on the red carpet.

“I was just referencing it as an example of being in a place where people don’t expect that you would be able to be there,” she added.

Winfrey, 59, said in television interviews last week that while she was in Switzerland for the wedding of singer Tina Turner last month a sales assistant in a Zurich shop had refused to show her a luxury handbag by designer Tom Ford, saying it was “too expensive” and instead suggested cheaper bags.

Swiss tourism officials said it regretted the incident and the owner of the Tom Ford boutique, luxury shop operator Trois Pommes, denied racism, saying it was a misunderstanding.

“This has nothing to do with racism. I am here for everyone and the customer is king,” shop owner Trudie Goetz said last week.

Goetz added that the sales assistant had wanted to show Winfrey, who earned an estimated $77 million in the year to June 2013, that the bag was available in other materials, which may have given the impression that the shop did not want to sell it to her.

“It’s not an indictment against the country or even that store,” Winfrey explained. “It was just one person who didn’t want to offer me the opportunity to see the bag, so no apologies necessary from the country of Switzerland.”

In “The Butler,” which deals with race issues and opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, Winfrey plays the wife of an African-American butler who worked at the White House for eight U.S. presidents.

The handbag incident sparked criticism in Switzerland where media reported last week that local governments were given authority to prohibit asylum seekers from using public sports venues like municipal pools, prompting criticism from advocacy group Human Rights Watch. A government minister denied the reports.

source: interaksyon.com

The stem cell miracle

The room was crowded. Christian Drapeau was going to speak on stem cells. He told us that the discovery of humans coming from a single cell called the stem cell happened decades ago but not much attention was paid until around 10 years ago when the focus slowly shifted to the stem cell. Stem cells are in our bodies manufactured by our bone marrow then released into our blood stream. There they begin to circulate. All our organs lose living cells day to day. As the stem cell circulates, other cells that are part of our organs release some kind of sticky liquid that catches the stem cells and converts them into cells needed for that organ. For example, if you had a heart attack, there is damage to the cells in your heart. They need replacing. When your bone marrow releases stem cells into your blood, the heart will reach for them and slowly repair the damage.

One of the reasons why it took them so long to discover this is because the stem cells immediately begin to look like heart cells so one cannot say – oh those are new cells made from stem cells. But they discovered a blue-green substance that helped the bone marrow manufacture and release more stem cells. This gave the new cells a blue-green color. Now they were able to track the movement of stem cells and claim that the new cells were created by the equally new stem cells. Stem cells are the body’s natural healing system.

It is difficult to say what organs stem cells repair because they repair anything that needs repair. But StemEnhance is not a miracle drug. It is made from algae from a lake in Oregon, which has been tested over the years and proven to make the body’s bone marrow release more stem cells. Then it is up to your body to heal itself wherever it needs healing.

When I started to take StemEnhance I felt increased energy maybe after ten days. Instead of dragging myself around in my pajamas I began to wake up cheerful, shower, get dressed and organize my day. This is the very least of the capsules’ effects. Many of my friends claim this same effect on them and add that their friends comment on how young they look. So they keep coming back for more.

But I also know someone who came because her neighbor had to be carried to the hospital once a month for a check up. They read my article written last November 24. Now the old man walks and opens the gate himself. A young man regularly gets for his father who is 84, in tremendous perpetual pain when he first came to see me. Now his father feels no more pain and goes to the mall to walk. However, everything takes time. You have to commit to taking at least three capsules a day.

My only son, who is 41, is extremely diabetic. At 41 he has had cataract operations. He takes a double dose of the pills daily. I asked him how he was. He said, “My sugar is still high but these days I can arrange three songs, compose two and write a jingle all in one day. I never could have done that before. Your pills give me energy.” Over time I am certain even his diabetes will go.




But there are obstacles. So many people asked Christian Drapeau why the medicine was so expensive. He said, “Why don’t you look at the other side? How much does it take us to harvest, manufacture and get here?” And he is right.

What is more expensive? Stem Cell Therapy that involves taking your bone marrow then doing something to it then injecting it back into you for a couple of million pesos or to buy a bottle that increases your stem cells? It depends on how much money you have. If you are very rich, of course, go all the way to Switzerland for your stem cell therapy. But if you are average then just take StemEnhance. It is not cheap enough for everybody but it is good enough for most people.

But I must share this story. One of our recent recruits is an integrative doctor, Dr. Chris Tengco, M.D. He has a medical degree, also studied alternative medicine, anthroposophy and something else. Mostly his patients are people with level 4 cancer and so far he has managed to heal most of them. That afternoon he presented us with two of his patients who were healed. What is his secret? He has a special formula, which he gives them intravenously and he asks them to drink StemEnhance.

Don’t you think that’s remarkable? I think that is truly excellent.

article source: philstar.com

Global regulators ease key bank rule to spur credit

BASEL, Switzerland/LONDON - Global regulators gave banks four more years and greater flexibility on Sunday to build up cash buffers so they can use some of their reserves to help struggling economies grow.

The pull-back from a draconian earlier draft of new global bank liquidity rule to help prevent another financial crisis went further than banks had expected by allowing them a broader range of eligible assets.

Banks had complained they could not meet the January 2015 deadline to comply with the new rule on minimum holdings of easily sellable assets from the Basel Committee of banking supervisors and also supply credit to businesses and consumers.

The committee's oversight body agreed on Sunday to phase in the rule from 2015 over four years, as reported by Reuters on Thursday, and widen the range of assets banks can put in the buffer to include shares and retail mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), as well as lower rated company bonds.

The new, less liquid assets can only be included at a hefty discount to their value, but the changes are a significant move from the draft version of the rule unveiled two years ago.

The Basel Committee, drawn from nearly 30 countries representing nearly all the world's markets, hopes they will stop banks from shrinking loan books to comply with the rule.

"For the first time in regulatory history, we have a truly global minimum standard for bank liquidity," the oversight body's chairman Mervyn King told a news conference in Basel, Switzerland.

"Importantly, introducing a phased timetable for the introduction of the liquidity coverage ratio ... will ensure that the new liquidity standard will in no way hinder the ability of the global banking system to finance a recovery," said King, who is also Bank of England governor.

Sunday's amendments, endorsed unanimously, came after two years of haggling among Basel Committee members.

They surprised relieved bankers with their scope and will help kick-start the mortgage backed securities market, languishing after being tarnished by the U.S. subprime crisis which set off the 2007-09 financial crisis.

"The inclusion of good quality RMBS in the liquidity buffer is a very welcome twelfth night present," said Simon Hills, executive director of the British Bankers' Association.

"It will make a real difference to issuance volumes by improving their marketability so that banks are better able to manage their balance sheets and provide funding to the real economy," Hills said.

Market pressure

The rule requires banks to hold enough liquid assets like government and corporate bonds to cover net outflows for up to a month to avoid taxpayers having to bail them out.

Basel Committee chairman Stefan Ingves, who also heads Sweden's central bank, said Sunday's changes mean that the average buffer at the world's top 200 banks rises from 105 to 125 percent, meaning it is well above full compliance.

But many banks elsewhere are well below full compliance, especially in some euro zone countries, and they will have to find an estimated trillion euros of assets over coming years at a time when bank profitability is being hammered.

Furthermore, liquidity held by some banks is on loan from their central bank and will have to be returned at some point. A revived mortgage-backed securities would help wean lenders off central banks.

King said regulators want to be "crystal clear" that banks in countries undergoing stress like in the euro zone could draw down their buffers below minimum levels if the local supervisor agreed.

Jim Embersit, a former Federal Reserve official and Basel Committee member and now with Ernst & Young in Washington, said many banks would move to fully comply before 2019 given market pressures and the need to change business models.

"Firms will not be eager to jump to full 100 percent implementation quickly but would be expected to meet the required milestones on their own prior to the designated deadlines," Embersit said.

Less stress

The Basel Committee also agreed to ease the "stress scenario" for calculating the amount of liquid assets banks must hold, meaning the buffer would be smaller.

Under the Basel regime, the rules would run alongside separate rules governing banks' capital, intended to ensure their longer-term stability.

Banks would start complying in 2015 when they are expected to hold at least 60 percent of the total buffer, building up to 100 percent by January 2019, when Basel's separate, tougher bank capital requirements also must be met in full.

The liquidity rule is meant to avoid a repeat of the scenario in which a short-term funding freeze brought down lenders like Britain's Northern Rock early on in the 2007-09 financial crisis.

It is part of the Basel III bank capital and liquidity accord agreed by world leaders in 2010 and being phased in over six years from this month, though there are delays in the United States and European Union.

Ingves said the Basel Committee is still committed to enacting a third plank of Basel III, the net stable funding ratio to limit dependence on short-term funding, by the end of 2018.

The Basel Committee will study how the introduction of the liquidity rule affects the impact of central banks injecting liquidity into the economy in a bid to spur growth.

source: interaksyon.com